Our project, the Research and Educational Project for Middle East and Islamic Studies at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, offers Japanese translations of articles from leading Middle Eastern newspapers to Japanese readers in order to directly convey the current situation there. Articles are selected from Internet newspaper sources and uploaded onto our website daily.

We cordially extend our thanks to eight newspapers in the Middle East for granting us permission to translate their articles.

Al-Ahram：First launched in 1876, Al-Ahram, Egypt's representative newspaper, is based on the official view of the Egyptian government. Meanwhile, it covers international news from all over the Middle East and Africa. The paper dispatches a correspondent to Tokyo to cover East Asian news on a continual basis.

Al-Nahar：First launched in 1933, Al-Nahar and As-Safir are two of the leading newspapers in Lebanon. Al-Nahar's view is based on Lebanese Nationalism, while As-Safir tends toward Arab Nationalism.

Al-Sabah al-Jadid：First published in 2004 in Iraq, Al Sabah al-Jadid is a liberal and secular independent newspaper which is widely read by students, housewives, government officials, as well as intellectuals. The paper offers us many articles regarding Iraq's national situation, based on their own coverage.

Sharq：A leading reformist newspaper, Sharq was established in 2003 and actively continues to publish a wide variety of articles, despite many reformist newspapers facing judicial pressures and publication bans.

Hamshahri：Popular tabloid newspaper owned by the Municipality of Tehran and one of the most widely circulating newspapers in Iran.

Milliyet：First published in 1950, Milliyet is a Turkish newspaper covering general news. Although the paper has a long history of being associated with the center-left of the political spectrum, the paper's current political view has shifted to the middle.

Hurriyet：First launched in 1948, this paper is one of the most widely circulating newspapers in Turkey. The paper traditionally supports the middle of the political spectrum.

Radikal：First published in 1996, Radikal targets highly educated urban dwellers in their thirties and forties, and provides a relatively center-left view. Despite its short history, it has built a reputation for its streamlined layout.

Cumhuriyet：First published in 1924, this liberal daily paper is a center-left and one of the oldest newspapers in the Republican Turkey. It targets urban intelligentsia. The circulation figure is around 85,000 copies as of 2008. Since 1998 the newspaper can be read on the Internet, however, a subscription is currently needed.

Yeni Safak：Yeni Safak is a pro-AKP (current ruling party, the Justice and Development Party) newspaper, and is said to be rather tolerant of Islam.

Zaman：Zaman is a conservative, pro-Islam newspaper in Turkey. The design of the newspaper on the internet is very sophisticated, and reader-friendly. English version is also available on the internet.

Graduate students studying at the Master and Doctoral Programs in Area and Culture Studies, and undergraduate students studying South and West Asian Studies at TUFS, play a central role in our translation project. Their translations are looked over by graduate students who have studied abroad for extensive periods of time, or by experts in media translation.

As of 2008 April, our staff for each language group is as follows:

Arabic Translation Group:
Supervisor: YAGI Kumiko
Reviewers:MORI Shintaro, YAMAMOTO Kaoru
Graduate Students:KATSUHATA Fuyumi, TAIRA Kantarou
Graduates of TUFS:ENDO Sayaka, TANAKA Yuko, TANAKA Yuko, MURAKAMI Seiichi, YOSHINAGA Akiko
Undergraduate Students
Seniors:Morimoto Utako, OKAMOTO Ayuko
Juniors:ARATANI Mio, KAKIHIRA Hiroaki, KATORI Chiharu, TAMAI Yoko, NAMAIKI Mai, MITSUI Aguri

Persian Translation Group:
Supervisor: YOSHIE Satoko, SASAKI Ayano
Reviewers: SAITO Masamichi, MAEDA Kimie,
Graduate Students: MAKI Ryota, MURAKAMI Haruka
Undergraduate Students
Seniors:IIDA Akihiro, IWAMA Yukari, NAKANISHI Yuuki, MINAMI Ryuta, FUJIKAWA Jun

Turkish Translation Group:
Supervisor: HAYASHI Kayoko
Reviewers ISHIMARU Yumi, SHIMIZ Yasuhisa, YAMASHITA Kimiyo
Graduate Students: KISHIDA Keiji, KURIBAYASHI Naomi, KOUKAKI Fumi, SUGITA Naoko, TAKAOKA Nozomu, TSUKADA Masahiro, HAYASHI Naoko,
Graduates of TUFS: AKIYAMA Masahiro, ARAI Kei, IWANE Masahiro, Inan ONER, ONODERA Kaori, KURAMOTO Saori, TAHAYASHI Rei, TANABE Tomoko, CHIKAOKA Yuki, TOMITA Yuko, NAGAI Hitomi, NAGAOKA Daisuke, MATSUOKA Satomi, MOTEGI Ayumi YUZAWA Fumi
Undergraduate Students
Seniors:IBUSUKI Miho, OTAGAKI Ayako, Kawaharada Yoshiko, KUGITA Haruka, NAGAYAMA Akiko, NISHIYAMA Manami, MIMURA Mai,
Juniors:OGAWA Reina, SHIRAISHI Yuriko, MAKI Shiori, HAGIHARA Erika, HARADA Seira, FUJII Youhei,